Popular anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare reached New Delhi today and began an indefinite hunger strike to force the government to appoint a Lokpal and even provide better prices for crops produced by farmers.
After paying respects to Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial at Raj Ghat, Anna walked to Delhi’s iconic Ramlila Maidan, where he will begin his hunger strike to demand appointment of a Lopkal at the Central level and Lokayuktas for states, apart from seeking implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report which has suggested ways to end agrarian distress in India.
A member of Anna’s team has revealed that he chose 23 March symbolically for his hunger strike because this was the day freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged by the British.
Addressing a bunch or reporters yesterday, Hazare alleged that the government has been cracking down on his supporters by cancelling trains in which they had intended to travel to Delhi. He also said the government had been trying to restrict his actions using police personnel it had deployed for his protection.
Anna is expected to draw thousands of supporters, which will also include farmers this time, due to his immensely popular hunger strike seven years ago, which had forced the then Congress-led UPA government to cede to his demands. He is also expected to receive support from opposition parties that have been trying to pin corruption charges on the functioning of Narendra Modi’s government.